Men set woman on fire in revenge attack

Five men have been convicted in connection with an attack that led to a serious house fire in which a woman and a girl were badly burned.

Five others had previously admitted offences relating to the incidents in Stoke-on-Trent in 2021.

Following an 11-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Det Con Howard Davies of Staffordshire Police said: "This was a horrific ordeal for a mother to be set on fire in her own home in front of her daughter by a number of men seeking revenge."

The men have all been remanded in custody to await sentence at a date to be fixed.

The police force said on the afternoon of 16 December 2021, Naveed Hussain, 32, Bilal Ahmed, 26, Kashif Ahmed, 25 and Ali Abbas, 22, all from Stoke-on-Trent, had a fight on Kildare Street, Longton.

It said Kashif Ahmed received a stab wound to his shoulder and went to hospital for treatment.

Just before 23:00 that evening, a number of men went to a house on Beverley Drive, in the Bentilee area of Stoke-on-Trent, demanding to speak to Hussain.

Staffordshire Police said the men smashed the downstairs windows and poured petrol in the hallway near to the front door and outside near to the living room window.

The force said a 31-year-old woman was hit on the head and set on fire, causing 65% burns.

At the time she was not expected to survive and was in a coma for two months.

She did survive, but has life-changing injuries that will require continual medical treatment.

A 13-year-old girl received 15% burns to her right arm and right leg.

They escaped by smashing an upstairs window and jumping out, leaving the woman with a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a lacerated liver, meaning she had to learn to walk again.

Following the trial, the following five men were convicted:

• Shakil Uddin, 23, of Oldham - convicted of attempted murder and arson with intent
• Lukman Khan, 24, of Stoke-on-Trent - convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent and arson with intent
• Riyadh Iqbal, 23, of Stoke-on-Trent - convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent and arson with intent
• Muhammad Sufyaan-Shah, 25, of HMP Hindley, Wigan - convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent
• Tayyeb Majeed, 23, of Stoke-on-Trent - convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent

Before the trial, the following five men pleaded guilty to offences:

• Ali Abbas, 22, of Stoke-on-Trent - admitted to two counts of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life and violent disorder
• Haris Mahmood, 21, of Stoke-on-Trent - admitted to two counts of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life
• Naveed Hussain, 32, of Stoke-on-Trent - admitted violent disorder and possession of a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place
• Kashif Ahmed, 25, of Stoke-on-Trent - admitted violent disorder
• Bilal Ahmed, 26, of Stoke-on-Trent - admitted violent disorder

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